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Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Creole Stuffed Bell Peppers

I absolutely adore stuffed bell peppers. The Cajun? Not so much.

Remember his aversion to veggies? Well, the poor bell pepper falls right into that category of any other whole veggie that is stuffed - even though most often the very veggie he is rejecting whole, is mixed in the stuffing anyway! So, as with any stuffed vegetable, he will just eat the stuffing from a stuffed bell pepper, and throw away the pepper. Silly man. I mean, he eats green bell pepper a lot. How many recipes do y'all see here that contain The Trinity - onion, celery, and ... hello ... green bell pepper? Lots. Sigh.

Needless to say I don't make these nearly as often as I'd like to. The thing is, all veggie hatred aside, I don't think a lot of people make stuffed peppers much anymore. Sad, because as far as I'm concerned, they really are good and not at all hard to make. I mean you've got your meat, a little starch and veggies, all rolled into one, right?

You'll notice that I like to cut my peppers in half lengthwise, cutting from the stem to stern, rather than cutting off the top of a whole pepper and stuffing it that way, so that it is standing up. It's just easier for me to cook them this way, and it stretches out the peppers.

Certainly though, if you prefer them made with the tops cut off, do them that way. Just cut off the upper part, just under the stem and then remove the spines and seeds. Either way, you'll want to parcook the cleaned peppers by dropping them into boiling water or microwaving them. I do mine for about 6 minutes.

I also like to use a blend of ground beef with some Italian sausage. Sometimes I'll even start with some bacon.

To that I add creole tomato sauce - which is basically tomato sauce cooked down with onion, celery and green bell pepper.

Speaking of veggies.... this handheld Food Saver is how I keep things like deli meats and cheeses, as well as blocks of hard and soft cheeses and all of the bits and pieces of onion, celery and bell pepper fresh for the next time I need them. I love, love, love this little gadget.

Because of the cost of food these days, I mostly buy the large family packs of meats or sale meat these days, so I've graduated to a countertop vertical Food Saver too for those meats because the handheld bags aren't recommended for freezing. The handheld unit is perfect for those things that you are in and out of often, so I'm still using this pretty much everyday on something.

Mix in some rice, most often just leftover rice, some seasonings, and some of the sauce, then evenly divide the mixture between all of the peppers. I add some Rotel tomatoes with the remaining sauce and top the peppers off with it.

Add a light sprinkling of bread crumbs if you like - I like the Italian seasoned kind but I've used plain and panko, or no bread crumbs at all if I'm using cheese, which I add at the end, a light sprinkle of shredded cheddar cheese or thin slices of Velveeta, whatever you like.

I asked The Cajun to pick me up some sharp cheddar on the way home one day, and he showed up with this.

I needed some shredded cheddar for something that day so it didn't work for the purpose in which I had intended, but, y'all know I love my Velveeta, so I wasn't exactly angry either! I shoved it in the fridge until something came up where I could use it and this seemed right as rain!

By the way, stuffed peppers freeze pretty well, so some of those extra baked peppers above, went into the freezer for a quick flash freeze, after which they were bagged up and will become a quick lunch or dinner for those occasions that I am dining alone in the near future. Defrost and then heat up in the microwave and you've got one speedy meal! You can also prepare these in advance unbaked and freeze them. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or in the microwave on defrost first, before baking.

For more of my favorite Cajun and Creole recipes, visit my page on Pinterest!

If you make this or any of my recipes, I'd love to see your results! Just snap a photo and hashtag it #DeepSouthDish on social media or tag me @deepsouthdish on Instagram!

Prepare sauce by melting butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and bell pepper and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, reduce heat to medium low and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Slice the peppers lengthwise, stem to bottom, and scrape out seeds and ribs. Bring a large pot of water to boil and drop the pepper halves in, allowing to parboil for only 5 minutes. Drain and set aside.

In a separate skillet, saute the onion in olive oil until tender. Remove the sausage from the casing and add it and the ground beef to the skillet; cooking until browned, and breaking up into small pieces. Drain well. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add 1/2 cup of the prepared tomato sauce, reserve the remaining sauce. Cook and stir 5 minutes or until sauce is heated through. Stir in rice, salt, pepper, and Cajun seasoning. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.

Pour 1/2 cup of water into the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking dish and place peppers in the dish. Loosely scoop the beef and rice mixture evenly into each pepper half, topping each off until you use all of the filling.

Mix the Rotel tomatoes with the remaining tomato sauce, and spoon evenly over the tops of each pepper and sprinkle each with bread crumbs. Bake uncovered at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes, or until peppers are tender and filling is heated through. Remove, add cheese to top, and return to oven until cheese melts.

Cook's Notes: May also substitute approximately 2 cups of homemade creole tomato sauce, divided. Peppers may be assembled for freezing or leftovers may be frozen. Peppers may also be cut standing. Simply cut off right under the top stem and remove the ribs and seeds, standing peppers up to stuff and cook. May also omit cheese topping.

Seafood Stuffed Peppers: Substitute 1-1/2 to 2 pounds of small shrimp, crawfish and/or crabmeat, or any combination of the three, for the meats, adding after the sauce is warmed through.

Material Disclosure: Unless otherwise noted, you should assume that post links to the providers of goods and services mentioned, establish an affiliate relationship and/or other material connection and that I may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You are never under any obligation to purchase anything when using my recipes and you should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

This looks yummy. Made your Buffalo Chicken Dip recipe for a dinner party at a friend's home this past weekend. Needless to say, it was absolutely delicious, so much so that my friend asked for the recipe. Along with the recipe I sent her your Deep South Dish website link.

Here I am again right after you on the SITS comments line! Lucky me. OMGosh these peppers look wonderful. I have never made them probably because no recipe ever really appealed to me but your recipe sounds like a winner. I am definitely trying them. :)

has anyone ever cut up bell peppers and made a casserole of this instead of stuffing the peppers.I have small grandkids and also older folks with artritis hands ,that casserole would be easier for them to eat.

KROGER UNSTUFFED PEPPER BAKEPrintAdd to menuCreate newCheck out how many calories in Kroger Unstuffed Pepper Bake. Get answers to all your nutrition facts questions at FitClick.Posted by BeckyB83Saturday, April 16, 2011 at 2:03pm filed under Main Dishes

Tip: For nutritional information on all the ingredients in Kroger Unstuffed Pepper Bake just click on each ingredient name. Then adjust the serving size for any Kroger Unstuffed Pepper Bake ingredient with the serving size tool in the nutrition facts area to the right to see how you can save calories, carbs and more.Directions: 1Preheat oven to 375F. 2In a large sauce pan, saute ground beef and onions, green peppers and garlic for 5 minutes, or until beef is browned. Drain off excess fat, and season with salt and pepper. 3Stir in the tomatoes, rice, Worcestershire sauce and Italian seasoning. Remove from heat, and stir in 1 cup cheese. 4Spread mixture evenly into a 13x9 baking dish and top with tomato sauce and remaining cheese.5Bake for 20 minutes, until heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

Yes, absolutely! I haven't done it here on the website yet, but essentially you simply take these ingredients and layer them into a casserole dish. I'd do the meats first, then the peppers, rice, etc. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes or till everything is heated through. For children and elders I would eliminate the Cajun seasoning and use plain diced tomatoes instead of Rotel.

Mary, If you have an Aldi's in your area you can get the 3-pack mixed (red,yellow,green) for anywhere between 99¢ to $1.49. A great deal! I buy all my basic groceries at Aldis and only go to the other stores for meats and ingredients I can't get there.I consider them my stock ingredient store and I have saved a mint over the years.

I have made this recipe and my hubs raved!!! And I almost cried it was so perfect. Keep up the good work!Best, Teresa

These look fabulous, Mary! I've never made them like this before, but I'm going to have to try this recipe! I think I may add some chili powder and cumin to the mix, to give it a Southwestern flair, and use fresh pork sausage, instead of Italian, since I don't think the mixture of the anise with the chili powder and cumin would work. I also like a sweet tomato sauce, so I'll add some sugar to it to cut the acid, as I have problems with acid reflux. Your site it truly my favorite when it comes to getting great recipes! Thanks for all the work you do to share them with us all! :)

I've been enjoying trying out your recipes and this one is no exception. It really kicked my tried and true stuffed pepper recipe up a notch. It had more flavor and a lot more spice and my husband was very pleased!! Thanks for sharing your great recipes. I made your Mimi's Sticky Chicken the other day and also used my leftover New Year's ham bone in your Ham Bone Soup. I love to try new recipes and every one of yours has been a hit with my family.

I made these last night and they were so much better than my tried and true bell pepper recipe. A lot more flavor and spice and my husband was very pleased. Thanks for offering these great recipes!! I made Mimi's Sticky Chicken the other night and used my New Year's ham bone in your Ham Bone Beans. I love to try new recipes and yours never fail to please!!

how large is the can of tomatoes? We don't have Rotel (if that's a brand name) up here in BC, but... what I figured I'd do is get a can (whichever size it needs to be) of regular tomatoes (chopped tomatoes?) and add a small can of green chilis.

Thanks for taking the time to comment - I love hearing from readers and I read every single comment and try to respond to them right here on the site, so stop back by!

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